


For Realsies

by EyesGoOptic



Category: Great News (TV 2017)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-02-07
Packaged: 2019-03-15 05:50:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,114
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13606893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EyesGoOptic/pseuds/EyesGoOptic
Summary: Carol has a health scare and it brings Katie and Greg closer in the aftermath of his breakup with Cat. From Greg’s POV.





	For Realsies

**Author's Note:**

> Set in between "Competing Offer" and "Early Retirement". I realize that things worked out a little differently for these two in the season (please don't let it be series!) finale, so slightly AU, I guess. I love writing things from Greg's POV, as we get so much more of Katie's feelings in the show, and he seems like a gold mine of unexpressed emotions. Also, I am aware that canon has Katie living in an apartment in the so-called "Werewolf District" but her living arrangement in the bottom floor of a house just worked better for this piece. These two are my favourite pairing, and got me into writing fanfic, so I hope you enjoy. This is my first time posting, so be gentle! Thanks!

Walking out of the meeting after conferring with Gene for a minute, Greg looks for Katie but she’s already headed back to her own office. He blows out a breath and runs his hand through his blond hair. He’s been through a hell of a month, and he misses the easy camaraderie of his and Katie’s relationship before the Night of the Half & Half, as he has begun calling it in his mind.

That night and the ensuing conversation with Carol the following morning precipitated his breakup with Cat. He had to admit that Carol was right about a number of things - it wasn’t fair to Katie to make her hang on as the other woman, a role she clearly didn’t want or ask for, and it wasn’t fair to him to stay in a relationship that, despite its romantic beginning, had long since devolved into him playing a minor part in the life Cat had constructed for them. She hadn’t even seemed that upset when he indicated he thought they were better off separating; in her words, Greg had ceased being “fun” (aka drama-worthy) and she was also ready to move on. 

However, as relatively easy as it was to sever his ties with Cat, it has not proved equally easy to reconnect with Katie. He can’t forget the heartbreak evident in her blue eyes as he told her he needed time, and he knows that she is also on the outs with her mum, which must be terrible for her. Greg has, at best, a distantly cold relationship with his own parents, but he isn’t so blind that he can’t recognize the bond that Katie and Carol share, and he can’t help but admit he’s also very fond of Katie’s mum. Carol moved down a floor three weeks ago to start her first paying job as a PA on Morning Wined Up, and since then Katie has been looking particularly forlorn. She isn’t making it easy for him to approach her either; the fact that she’s avoiding him is obvious. Perhaps she thinks it’s for the best; Greg knows she hadn’t wanted to disrupt his relationship with Cat and he also knows that Carol had lectured her daughter on the disaster waiting for her as the other woman. She’d said the same to him - and he knows so well the hatred for Camilla and Charles in England!

He squares his shoulders, thinking to himself that it’s past time to talk to Katie. First and foremost, she is his friend, and he inwardly cringes at the thought that he has allowed the complicated emotions which have arisen from his breakup with Cat to prevent him from being there to support her in this hard time with her mum. He sets his steps firmly in the direction of her office, striding more confidently with each step. They’ll talk things through, he thinks, and make it right. He doesn’t want to give up the closeness they have developed over the last several months.

As he rounds the corner closest to Katie’s office, he can hear her on the phone. She sounds...upset. Wait, is she crying? He speeds up and bursts through her office door, in time to hear her say, “When did it happen? ...Did you call 911? … Oh my god… What hospital? … Okay, I will be right there!”

She hangs up the phone and looks up to see him standing in front of her desk, concern writ large on his handsome face. Tears are sparkling in her eyes and are flowing down the sides of her face. Her beautiful face…

“What happened? Are you okay?” Greg asks, praying that whatever has happened is not too earth-shattering.

“That was the executive producer for Morning Wined Up. My m-mom….Greg, she passed out and hit her head!” Katie swallows a sob as she quickly gathers her jacket and purse and brushes past him. She turns back to him, saying tearfully, “I’m...I’m really sorry, I know we have rehearsal this afternoon, but I have to go to the hospital.” Her face is a study in misery, her blue eyes frightened and red-rimmed. 

Greg is horrified that she would think he would care about her missing a rehearsal. “Of course you have to go to the hospital! I’m driving you.”

“No, no, no! You have the show to take care of - I’ll take a cab” she insists, unaware of the twisting guilt in his stomach as he considers what might happen if he doesn’t do this right now, if he doesn’t stand up for her and what is important to her - if he doesn’t show her how important she is to him. A cold, empty, Katie-less future stretches out before him and he snaps into action, never wanting it to come to pass.

“Screw the show - they can do it themselves! I am getting you to your mum” Greg insists, gently but firmly taking Katie by the elbow and steering her out of the office, towards the parking lot and his car.

************************

Greg sits in a very uncomfortable chair at Secaucus Hospital, waiting anxiously alone in the waiting room for Katie to come back to him. He is worried about Carol, and also worried that he’s messed up any chance for he and Katie to be together. Dammit, he should have come to her right after breaking up with Cat - at least told her how he felt, that his feelings for her have been building steadily since before Gram had come, that he couldn’t picture his life without her. 

He knows that she intentionally drank the cream to give herself an attack, to gross him out so that he wouldn’t cheat on Cat and make her a homewrecker. She assumed that he would be repulsed and leave, but the only response he had to her terrible IBS episode was support and concern. He has never had a particularly strong stomach, but the sight of Katie being violently sick only raised a genuine desire in him to protect her and make her feel better. When she turned to him and said that she couldn’t believe he was still there, a wave of love so strong he couldn’t possibly ignore it washed over him, and he had to kiss her, to communicate to her silently that she was so, so precious to him. 

Unable to stand the uncomfortable chair a second longer, Greg pushes himself to his feet and begins to pace. He has completed his seventh circuit of the small room when Katie pushes open the large swinging door which leads from the wards. She is pale and still teary-eyed, but her face is more composed than before and she manages a tiny smile when she sees him waiting for her.

“Greg! I wasn’t sure you would still be here...it’s been hours! What about the show?” she asks shakily, coming closer to him. 

Greg’s hands come up to clasp Katie’s upper arms, chafing them slightly as she shivers at his touch - is she cold? “Don’t be ridiculous, Katie - the show is fine. You and your mum are much more important to me” he says, looking into her eyes, trying to convey just how much she means to him. Please, please believe me, he thinks to himself. “How is your mum?”

She exhales shakily, passing a hand over her face, and looks up at him. “She is okay. Apparently she was severely dehydrated - they have no water coolers down there, just wine! She passed out and hit her head, but they’ve got her on IV fluids now, and she is going to be fine. Just a bump on her head, not even a concussion! Daddy’s in there with her now, but she’s pretty tired and told me to go home. I didn’t think you’d still be here, but I thought I would come and check, so…” She trails off uncertainly.

Greg raises a hand and brushes a stray hair away from her face. He smiles at her and says, “I’m chuffed to hear that. Your mom is pretty amazing.”

“I know, but these past weeks have been so hard, with her meddling and us having that falling out and her leaving the show, I felt so guilty and I thought....I thought….when I got the call and I th-thought…” she dissolves into tears and leans into his chest. 

His arms come up around her and he cradles the back of her head with one strong hand. He leans into her ear and whispers, “Shhh, darling, it’s okay. She’s going to be fine and so are you. I’m right here… Shhhh….” Her shoulders shake with sobs and she clutches the back of his shirt. 

In a few minutes, she calms herself and pulls away from his embrace, looking at his shirt front with something akin to horror. “Oh, Greg! Your shirt! I’m so sorry!”

Greg looks down at his blue button-down shirt, and sees what she’s talking about: a sizeable tear stain mars the left side. He couldn’t care less and tells her so. She looks at him, unsure, but he pulls her to him again and she comes willingly, content to rest for a second in the comfort of his arms. 

“Can I drive you home?” Greg asks after a minute, hoping against hope she won’t refuse and retreat into herself as she has for the last few weeks. 

Katie brushes the back of her hand across her eyes, sniffles and says, “Yeah, actually, that would be great. If it’s not too much trouble, that is.”

“It’s my pleasure” Greg responds, inwardly cheering at her willingness to accept his help. Maybe soon they’ll get to talk about more that just her mum. 

On the way to Katie’s, Greg puts some soft music on the radio and stays silent, feeling that perhaps Katie needs some quiet time to process the day she’s had. Two stop lights away from the hospital, he looks over to see her sleeping, leaning against the passenger side window. A small smile crooks his lip and another wave of love for this incredible woman hits him. 

Pulling up in front of the house which contains Katie’s downstairs flat, Greg puts the car in park and gently touches Katie’s shoulder to wake her. “Katie...darling...wake up. We’re here” he says softly.

Katie shifts in the passenger seat, looking groggily around her, finally focusing on him. “Greg? What are you…? Oh, that’s right, you drove me home” she finishes, moving to undo her seatbelt and open the door. Greg quickly comes around to her side of the car, helping her out of the car and walking with her up the path to her front door. 

“Greg, I’m fine. You don’t have to walk me all the way to the door” Katie says, while rooting around in her purse for her house keys.

“I just wanted to make sure you were all right - you’ve had a hell of a day. Please allow me to assist you,” he finishes lamely, cringingly aware that what he has just said does not qualify for the top ten smoothest moves of all time.

She looks quizzically at him, tilting her head and narrowing her eyes. They have reached her front door and she has managed to find her keys. “Wait a minute - you called me darling. Twice! What’s up with that, Greg?” She turns to unlock her door, and then turns back to him. “You’d better come in.”

Uh oh. It doesn’t sound like she liked that. I couldn’t help it - I care for her so much, and while it’s not an endearment used as often here, in Britain it is a common term for someone you care for, that you….love. I love her! So, how do I tell her? 

He follows her into her living room, noting that it looks like a slightly more modern, less cluttered version of her mother’s. This fact makes him smile, something which does not escape Katie’s notice.

She whirls around, in full attack mode. “Are you smiling? Why? Is this a joke to you? Why did you call me darling? Are you messing with me, Greg? I am so not in the mood, after the day I’ve had. What is going on with you? You’d better not be messing with me - you know what I’m capable of after I’ve eaten dinner!”

Greg, ruefully remembering the two times she has threatened to take a dump on someone’s desk when she’s angry with them (him included), decides it’s time to come clean. Completely.

He moves towards her and reaches for her hands. He looks into her eyes - those electric blue eyes which have captivated him from the beginning, even before his feelings for her became clear to him. He takes a deep breath, and steps off the cliff:

“Katie, I’m not messing with you - I would never do that to you, especially on a day like this. I called you darling because in Britain, that’s a name for someone who is dear to you - so, so dear. It’s a name you call the person in your life that makes you laugh, makes you happy, makes you a better person. It’s a name for the person you love.”

Katie stares back at him, openmouthed. She looks completely gobsmacked. Oh no, is that bad? he thinks, desperately trying to conceive of a way to show her how important she has become to him. 

“You...you love me? For realsies?” Katie says incredulously.

“For realsies. For the realest realsies I have ever felt. I broke up with Cat the day after we last talked. Your mum was right - I was staying in a relationship which wasn’t working because I was too polite to get out of it, and it wasn’t fair to you or me. I am so sorry, not for kissing you, but for kissing you when I did, because it put you in a terrible position. I will never do that to you again, I swear.” Greg pulls her hands around his waist, and brings his hands to the sides of her face. “Katherine Wendelson, I love you. I have for some time now. And I just hope you can forgive my horrid behaviour over the past few weeks. And I hope that you will give me the chance to prove just how important you have become to me.”

A smile begins to spread over Katie’s face, and she moves closer to Greg, their lips inches apart. “Well, that’s about the best news I’ve had all month, because, if it hasn’t already been become painfully obvious, I love you too, you great big idiot” she laughingly replies.

Greg’s heart practically explodes with happiness. She feels the same! She loves me too! Grinning idiotically, he lowers his head to brush his lips against hers. This is an entirely different kind of kiss than the one they shared in the bathroom a month ago - less passionate, more searching and sweet. There is a sense of contentment which wasn’t there before, but underneath runs a current of passion that Greg can’t wait to explore.

Later, of course. She has had a hell of day and he wants to be considerate of her. She gently breaks the kiss and leans her forehead against his. “Not that I don’t want to snog your brains out” Katie sighs, “but I am exhausted. I need to go to bed.”

Greg considers the frisson that travels through him at her use of British slang before mentally giving his head a shake and telling himself to calm down. “Of course, darling,” he replies. “I’ll go and let you get to sleep.” He turns to leave, as she catches one of his hands and tugs gently.

“Would it be weird if I asked you to stay for a bit? Just until I fall asleep? I think it will help me to understand that this is real and not just a dream I’m having after eating too much junk food” she says, looking up at him through her lashes, a smile crooking her lips to the side.

Greg melts a little inside, knowing that when she looks at him like that, he can deny her nothing. It’s been true on the show for months now, and he can foresee it being a teensy problem for him in their romantic relationship. Uh-oh. He’s got it bad. Well, he did kiss her just after she threw up - that should have told him something. “Yes, of course. Lead the way.”

Katie leads him down the hall to her bedroom. He enters behind her, looking around at the room he has thought so much about being in for so long. Again, her style is a modern version of her mother’s - comfortable, yet stylish, in shades of teal and aqua. The room is dominated by a huge sleigh bed piled with pillows and a plush-looking duvet in the same colour palette as the rest of the room. She notes his gaze lingering on her bed and says, “Yeah, I know it’s massive and the pillows are kind of ridonkulous, but it’s my little refuge at the end of the day.”

Greg smiles as he listens to her talk. He settles himself against the pillows on one half of the bed while Katie pulls pyjamas out of a drawer and goes to the bathroom to change. As he waits for her to return, Greg relaxes against the pillows and muses on how this bed is a bit of a metaphor for Katie - big (as in big-hearted), warm, and so comfortable. 

He has almost dozed off when Katie reappears, in a tank top and loose pyjama pants, face scrubbed clean and hair caught up in a loose bun atop her head. She smiles a little shyly at him as she crawls beneath the covers on the opposite side of the bed. Tucked under her duvet, she turns to face him as he does the same on top of the covers.

“Thanks for staying” she says softly as she looks into his eyes. Hers are the same vivid blue, even without makeup, and he thinks to himself that he could easily get lost in them. 

Greg lifts a hand to caress Katie’s jawline. He smiles and says “It’s my pleasure, darling. Now, get some rest.”

Her eyes flutter closed. “Mmmkay” she says softly, already half-asleep. Greg watches as she tumbles into actual sleep, her limbs softening and her face relaxing into a calm, peaceful expression. He feels a sharp pang of affection for this nutty, smart, incredible woman and once again wonders at his good fortune that she has come into his life.


End file.
